


a place we could escape sometime

by delimeful



Series: October 2019 Prompts [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captivity, Deceit Mention, Dogs, Fear, G/T, Gen, Giant/Tiny, Miscommunication, no unsympathetic characters, the humans are jerks but mostly out of ignorance not malice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 17:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21275225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delimeful/pseuds/delimeful
Summary: On a routine borrowing run, Virgil makes a mistake and ends up trapped in the grasp of the humans of the house, with a broken arm and no idea how he's going to escape- or how he's going to warn Roman, the other borrower in the house, about his capture.-Upon finding a tiny humanoid creature in their house, Logan and Patton both struggle to figure out what to do about the quiet, terrified little guy. It doesn't feel completely right, treating him like an animal, but it's not as though he's shown any signs of being able to speak or even understand them... Right?





	1. Day 1: Fear

Virgil took a deep breath, peering out of the little doorway beneath the couch.

No footsteps, which meant no humans. He knew already that both of the humans that resided here were out at school and work respectively, but it never hurt to check and double check. Never knew when one would call in sick or sleep in late.

He exhaled lowly, near-silent, and exited the walls, beginning the trek over to the kitchen. They needed more food, especially since he’d heard talk of a ‘spring break’ which meant that soon at least one of the humans would be around more often. He had to stock up while he still could. The only problem was Kitty.

Realizing he had reached the counter, he crossed his fingers and then tossed his climbing hook up, hoping that it would catch on the first try. No such luck. The hook scraped across the counter before falling back down. He caught it easily, but the damage was already done, and he broke out into a cold sweat as the click of claws began from down the hall.

Trying not to panic, he tossed the hook up again, and then a third time. It finally caught on the fourth attempt, and he barely tugged on it to make sure it was secure before he was scrambling up it. Hand over hand over hand, satchel thumping against his side, and he blocked out the ever-closer _tap-tap-tap_ until-

There! He pulled himself onto the counter, and heard the scrabble of paws on tile only a moment later. He rolled to his feet, looking down at the border collie on the floor. “No Borrower snack for you. Better luck next time, Kitty.”

The dog whined softly, rising onto her hind legs to claw at the cupboard doors under the counter. Virgil made a face at her as payback for the adrenaline rush, and then turned to the cereal boxes lined up against the back of the counter. After a close shave like that, he needed to get as much as he could.

He slit open the back flap, pulling piece after piece of cereal out and shoving them into his satchel until it was crammed full. He sat back on his heels, searching for anything else that had been left out. Unfortunately, one of the roommates was a clean freak, meaning that a lot of the food was securely stored away in cabinets. Him and Roman had been working at opening up a doorway into one of them, but it was slow going.

The cereal would do for now. He buttoned his satchel and walked back over to the edge of the counter. Kitty was laying on the floor, lifting her head up when he came into sight. Her eyes were incredibly intent on him, and he sighed. Looked like he was taking the long way back.

Before he could turn, though, a colorful wrapper across the room caught his eye. He squinted, barely believing it. Was that… beef jerky? It was sitting out on the dining room table, indicating that it was probably left out by Patton before he hurried off to work. Virgil bit his lip.

Beef jerky was a rare find. Meat in general was incredibly rarely left out, but the jerky would stay good for longer, letting them ration it and have a protein source for at least a week. He drooled a little just thinking about it.

If Roman had been with him, he would have deemed it too risky. But… there wasn’t too much harm in trying, was there? He could see the route in his mind, a clear way to climb up the side of the fridge and then up on top of the cabinets, which would provide him a path over to the shelf decorated with knick-knacks and photo frames. He could do it.

He was in motion before he could talk himself out of it, thinking about the way Roman tried to sneak him more food because he went out more often, as though it was Roman’s fault that Virgil had a high metabolism and went scavenging more because of how much he ate. The more food they had on hand the better, and cereal wasn’t enough to keep them running at full strength. It was worth the risk.

He didn’t realize that Kitty had followed his progress until he was finally on the shelf, hook on the top of it so he could slowly lower himself row by row down. Until she rose onto her hind legs again and thumped her paws against the side of the shelf, and he abruptly realized it wasn’t as heavy as he’d thought. Ice shot through his veins, and he clung onto his rope as the shelf wobbled, staring up at the hook and desperately hoping it wouldn’t slip off.

As soon as the shelf settled, he started lowering himself as fast as he dared, and then froze again as another thump vibrated through the frame of the shelf. “No! Bad dog!” He yelled, and Kitty wagged her tail at him and went back to standing on four legs. He blinked. That had been easy.

Too easy, he realized as she backed up, an anticipatory gleam in her eye. “No, no _no no NO!_”

Kitty hit the shelf with all the force in her medium-sized body, and it began to topple towards the couch. Virgil had time to look up and watch as a snow globe slid sideways, right into his hook. He screamed as he dropped into terrifying free fall, and a heartbeat later, landed on a soft surface with an impact that forced all the air from his lungs. The couch?

He heard the sound of paws, but before he could worry about that, something heavy and metal struck him, he heard an agonizing crack, and everything went black.

-

Logan returned home from classes to a mess.

He stood stock-still in the doorway, taking it all in.

The shelf had been tipped so that it was resting heavily on the arm of the couch, which was covered in a veritable pile of the small ornaments that had previously lined the shelves. Kitty, the clear culprit, was whining and pawing at the leather cushions of the couch, barely even sparing him a glance. That was unusual. In the few previous occasions where she had destroyed something, she would hide in a corner, refusing to look at them.

Well, no matter. He sighed, sending Patton a text before setting his bag down and picking his way through the mess. Luckily, their floor was carpeted, meaning that most of the more breakable objects that hadn’t made it onto the couch had still survived the impact. He carefully righted the shelf, pushing the leftover items back to their place before crouching to gather the ones on the floor, taking pictures of the few that were broken for Patton to gauge the fixability of.

Next, the couch. The shelves were beginning to resemble their previous layout, Logan reassembling the lineup from memory. He moved Kitty out of the way again and searched the cushions for anything he’d missed- there. The metal bar of his Newton’s Cradle was sticking up.

He grabbed it, pulling up carefully as to not break the thin string that held up the metal balls, and was surprised when something else came up with it, tangled in the moving part of the knick-knack. A doll? Kitty whined, high and nervous, and he noted that one of its limbs was bent at an odd angle. He untangled it from the strings, marveling at the realism of it, and attempted to set the arm back in place.

A hoarse, agonized scream made him freeze, and he stared in disbelief at the 'doll’, which was writhing in his hand as though on fire. He released the arm as though it had burned him, and pressed a hand to his mouth in shock. Tiny eyelids, ones that he had assumed were painted on, were now open and staring at him with raw, unadulterated fear.

The impossibly tiny creature scrambled back on three limbs, bumping against Logan’s fingertips, which he curled up to prevent falling. The arm Logan had been touching still hung at that painful angle, and he felt a jolt of nausea go through him at the clear break he had been manhandling badly enough to force the being back into consciousness.

_I’m sorry_, he wanted to say, but all that came out of his mouth was, “What _are_ you?” 

The fear only intensified, and before he could rectify his mistake, its eyes rolled back in its head and it slumped. Logan searched for a pulse quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when it turned up. Passed out, not dead. Logan swallowed, heart racing.

He had so many questions.


	2. Day 2: Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil wakes up in a bad situation and makes some bad decisions to match.

Virgil woke to a dull pain pulsing in his whole body and a strong feeling of dread telling him something was very, very wrong. He sighed, trying to remember what he’d last been doing. He hated it when his brain was just vague. 

He tried to open his eyes, expecting the dimly-lit inside of their home in the walls, but found that his vision remained completely dark. He reached up, brow furrowed in confusion, but only one hand lifted, the other completely immobile. When he tried to move that arm, it sent a wave of paralyzing pain through him. Okay, so he was injured. No wonder he couldn’t remember anything. Had Roman brought him home after a flunked borrowing trip? 

Using his uninjured left hand only, his fingers met a thick cloth wrapped over his eyes. He frowned, panic beginning to swell in him. Had he injured his eyes, too? He needed to be able to see to borrow! His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement nearby, and Virgil stiffened slightly, straining his ears. ‘_Roman?’_

“Lo! I think he’s awake!” A very big voice called in a very low whisper. Virgil’s pulse skyrocketed. ‘_Not Roman, _human.’ 

Without a second thought he was on his feet, unsteady and ignoring the pain radiating through his arm at the quick motions. He one-handedly tore at the cloth on his face until it came loose, pulling it away to reveal light, too bright to be in the walls. He squinted against it, backing up from where he’d heard the voice, and then his shoulder hit something cold and metal. 

He realized where he was as the world finally came into focus, revealing a human face peering down at him through thick lines of wire. He glanced side to side, only confirming his suspicions. There were two small dishes on the ground nearby, full of food and water. All around him, bars too thin to squeeze through. A cage. 

He’d been captured.

Footsteps drew closer as his chest began to rise and fall shallowly, panic constricting his lungs like a vice. Another human face appeared, the one that attended school. Logan. Wasn’t he a scientist? Virgil shoved the thought away roughly, struggling to control his breathing with the exercises he’d been taught. He imagined Roman’s voice helping him run through them, but the idea of Roman stuck in here too only made his panic worse.

“He appears to be panicking.” Logan said, making his head jolt up to stare at him. The square glasses perched on his nose had never seemed so menacing as they did now, reflective and concealing his gaze. 

If that was Logan, than the other human looking at him with a pity-filled gaze was Patton. Kitty’s owner. Wait… He pressed his back against the bars, looking between the two of them as he remembered what had happened. His hand clenched around the makeshift blindfold angrily. That damn dog! 

“Hello? It’s okay, we aren’t going to hurt you, little guy.” Patton leaned forwards slightly, making soothing noises, and Virgil flinched, causing a jolt of pain to run up his arm. He kept his mouth shut, teeth clenched. He was in an old hamster cage. Of course they weren’t going to hurt him. He was as good as their pet, until they got sick of him. Who in the world would want damaged goods? 

Still, he wouldn’t give up Roman or the others. He had to stay mum on the topic, and the best way to make sure they didn’t torture him for information was to make them believe he couldn’t speak at all. 

The first borrower rule was to protect oneself by not getting caught. The other two were to protect the rest of their species if one did get caught. He was already screwed, he wasn’t going to drag anyone else down with him. 

He locked his jaw, blinking up at them like a stupid, frightened animal. It was easy to act like a terrified rabbit, since all he had to do was give into the instinctive panic roiling in his chest. 

Patton frowned with worry. “I thought covering his eyes would help keep him calm, but we’re just too big… Should I try to put the blindfold back on?”

Virgil had to work to keep from reacting to the words, terrified goosebumps breaking out over his skin at the idea of those massive hands tying something around his head.

“No, I believe it…, or rather, _he_ will only remove it again, unless you believe it would be better to restrain his hands as well?” Logan answered, eyes never moving from Virgil’s shaking form. 

“Not unless he starts trying to mess with his splint. I don’t want to terrify the poor thing anymore than we already have, I’m afraid he might die of shock!” Patton exclaimed softly, stepping back a bit. “We should give him some space, let him get adjusted. I’ll turn the lights off and see if sitting in the dark for a bit will help." 

Virgil was sure it couldn’t be that easy, but Logan simply nodded, straightening up and turning to follow Patton out the door. Patton paused, tilting his head curiously. "Ah, that’s right, you wanted to start taking notes, right? Do you want to come back to my room after dinner and see if you can observe anything?" 

"It is quite alright, Patton.” Logan responded, glancing at Virgil. “It’s disappointing that he can’t communicate, but I believe behavioral analysis will be more accurate if we obtain it while we are out of the room. Tomorrow, I can go rent out a few cameras from the tech department on campus, and set them up to watch the cage while we are away during the day." 

Virgil’s head spun as Patton said something brightly back, and the click of the door closed behind them. He gasped like a fish out of water, trying to stave off panic. They were going to video tape him. It was even worse than having pictures taken, they were going to have _hard evidence_ of his existence and then they were going to start looking for more of his kind. 

Exterminators would be tearing up walls looking for them, families would be torn apart by humans bidding on the rare creatures, scientists would use them as substitutes for human experimentation. Thousands of borrowers would die at the hands of humans, and it would be all his fault.

He kicked at the cage bars, finding that he couldn’t even reach the latch at the top of the cage door to try and pick it. He groaned wordlessly, and kicked over the food and water dishes for good measure. He didn’t have his hook or his satchel, even his poncho was gone. There was no way to get out on his own, but if anyone came after tonight, the humans would know they were there. They’d get caught too, trying to save him.

He had to warn Roman before it was too late. 


	3. Day 3: Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton attempts to help their strange guest be less nervous around them. Roman finally learns about Virgil's plight.

Patton sighed as the small creature- he had taken to calling him Kiddo out loud- ducked away from his gloved hands again, running full tilt in the opposite direction. 

He wasn’t worried, of course. He wouldn’t have let the little guy out of the cage if he hadn’t had an old guinea pig playpen on hand. Patton worked at an animal clinic, he knew how fast rabbits and ferrets could move, but he didn’t know anything about this tiny being, and as such was being extra careful. 

After all, he couldn’t even imagine how much trouble some of the hamsters he’d owned would’ve gotten into if they’d had opposable thumbs like this little one.

Still, the basis of any bond between human and animal was trust building, and right now, that was going poorly. He was trying to teach the mini-human to associate touch with good things, like food or pats, but no matter what he did, the little guy only fled with all the strength in his little legs. Patton was kind of impressed, seeing as they had been at it for almost an hour now. The kiddo had endurance!

He replaced the fruit in the dish with a few tiny strips of jerky, hoping that something would finally entice the little creature to come nearer to him. This time, he sat back on his heels, not trying to coax the lil guy closer with his hands. Perhaps his vision wasn’t great, and he was alarmed by sudden movement? He wondered again how the poor thing had survived this long. 

Patton watched as he slowed his frantic pace, a hand gripping the bars of the pen’s fence as though he was going to try and climb it. Just another reason not to leave the little guy out alone. He pushed the food dish forwards slightly to give it the illusion of being further from him.

The tiny came closer, a strange expression on his face as he looked at the dish. Patton’s heartbeat quickened; was this the solution? He watched as the little guy approached, fingers crossed behind his back. All he had to do was wait for the tiny creature to take a bite, and he could ruffle his hair with a finger or something, connecting the concept of touch to a reward. 

He was stunned when his anticipatory thoughts were interrupted by the tiny man glaring down at the jerky instead of eating it. He suddenly kicked out with ferocity, the motion so swift that it knocked the jerky from the dish and the dish itself went skidding back over to Patton’s knees. “Hey!” 

Just like that, the tiny retracted into himself again, scuttling back with shoulders hunched as Patton reached for him, scooping him into a loose fist. “No.” Patton emphasized, frowning. “I don’t care how much you don’t like jerky, you can’t go throwing things around!” 

The tiny kept his head down, body shaking, and Patton sighed. “That’s enough socialization for today, I think.”

He stood up, careful not to move too quick, and deposited the little guy back onto the pile of clean handkerchiefs he’d put in as bedding. The tiny scrambled back in a crab-walk, and Patton closed the door of the cage with a soft clang. He smiled gently. “We’ll try again tomorrow, okay?” 

He had turned away before he could see the tiny face crumple with stress. 

-

Roman paced back and forth in their little living room, feeling as though there should be a groove in the floor from how long he’d been at it. 

Virgil had gone out hours ago, and he still wasn’t back. Roman had been sleeping when he’d headed out, leaving just a note, and a clatter or crash had jolted him into wakefulness, but only for a moment. Humans were always jumping and banging around, their huge ears too far up to hear the ruckus they made. He’d grumbled and turned over, going back to sleep.

He was certainly regretting it now. That Emo Nightmare was always emphasizing how important checking in was, especially when the humans were home. The fact that he still hadn’t come back, hadn’t even left a note in the walls anywhere, was a bad sign. 

Roman took a deep breath, making up his mind. He headed out to the newer passages they were working on, the ones that were half-done and a bit makeshift because they were the first borrowers to live in these walls and they couldn’t spend all their energy making new routes. He could almost feel Virgil’s presence warning him to be careful, thinking about all the ways a fall could kill him, and determinedly forged his way forward.

He peered out through a small hole in the plaster to see Patton was cooking, making a light soup on the stove. No signs of Virgil, though some furniture seemed shifted around slightly. Maybe they’d done some reorganizing? 

No sign of Kitty either, which was weird because normally the border collie would sit at Patton’s feet to beg, waiting for any vegetable scraps to ‘accidentally’ get brushed off the counter. Damn dog made finding stray crumbs a nightmare. 

He continued to search, dread in his stomach. What if Kitty had finally gotten ahold of Virgil? The dog had a near-obsession with the older borrower, constantly chasing him off the floor the second she heard a single peep out of him. Sometimes Virgil would forget to talk at home if he’d been out borrowing all day. 

The dog seemed nothing but sweet normally, but they knew better than any how animals were kinder to humans than borrowers. Their migration to a new home had involved a perilous trek through the outdoors, one that had earned them both a few scars. 

Quicker now, he found the next vantage point, looking out into the hall that led to the humans’ bedrooms. He spotted Kitty immediately, laying down flat like a rectangle with her nose stuck against the crack of the bedroom door, tail swishing as she whined lowly. Jackpot. Virgil had to be in there. 

It was Patton’s room, which meant it was empty right now. He pulled himself up to another beam, jumping the gap to make it to the walkway that led to the softer human’s bedroom. “Hold on, Virgil!” He muttered to himself. 

He began to descend the staples embedded in the wall until he reached the closest entrance, the one on top of the dresser. Before he could burst out and start calling for Virgil, however, he realized that there was a voice coming from the room already. His stomach sank. Had Patton come in to grab something?

He pushed the circular hole in the wallpaper open, darting behind a framed photo of Patton and his family, and peeked out at the room.

It was worse than he ever could have imagined. 

Logan, not Patton, was standing a few meters away, an empty hamster cage sitting out on the desk next to him. He was muttering numbers to himself, and Roman strained to see what he was doing despite having a sinking feeling he already knew. 

He scurried over to another decor item, this time a small kitten statue, and inhaled sharply at the sight of Virgil, pinned to the table by one of Logan’s hands as he lined up a measuring tape next to him. Virgil seemed still, but Roman could see the way his chest rose and fell rapidly, the way his shoulders jerked compulsively under the pressure of those giant fingers. 

Roman felt horrified tears begin to build behind his eyes, pressing a hand to his mouth to keep from sobbing. Virgil had been _captured,_ for who knew how long now, while he’d been sleeping the day away! He stumbled back, suddenly realizing that the human could turn and find him too. He stiffened shoulders, casting one last look back at Virgil and wishing the other borrower could see him, and then returned to the wall. 

He had to hide, and prepare for the night. 

They weren’t getting his best friend without a fight.


	4. Day 4: Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's captors talk about him over dinner, and Roman makes a rescue attempt.

“I’m not sure what to do.” Patton confessed that evening over dinner. “The little guy has been pacing nonstop, trying to scale the bars of the cage… I think something might be stressing him out.” 

Logan hummed, gathering a spoonful of soup. “He certainly did seem stressed.” 

It had been… off-putting, to say the least, watching something so humanoid display such overwhelming terror at his actions. He’d been planning to gather a few more measurements, but after the tremors that overtook the creature after obtaining only his height and weight, he ended up putting him back in the cage. Patton was right: being around such comparatively huge beings was probably putting undue stress on the tiny person’s heart. 

“Maybe it’s something in my room?” Patton suggested. “I suppose it does smell like Kitty in there… oh!” 

Logan glanced up, inquisitive. “Yes?” 

“He can’t stay in my room, Kitty will never leave him alone!” Patton exclaimed. 

Indeed, if he leaned back in his chair slightly, Logan could see Kitty in the hallway, laying mournfully by Patton’s door. The collie had tried to sneak into the room at every opportunity. “I thought Kitty wasn’t dangerous to small animals?” 

“Oh, she’s not!” Patton hurried to assure him. “She used to herd chickens, though, before I adopted her, and now whenever she sees a critter that’s around chick-sized, she tries to herd it back to me. It’s cute, but I don’t want to keep the little guy up all night worrying about a predator in the room.” 

Logan didn’t point out that going by the tiny’s reactions, _they_ were probably predators to him, both because it was an unsettling thought and because it would undermine his next suggestion. 

“In that case, we can simply move the cage over to my room.” 

Patton fluttered his hands around. “Wait, I don’t want to just push the problem onto you! What if he keeps you up all night?” 

“My break has begun today, Patton. I have no classes for the next week, and as such I won’t be performing sub-optimally if I am kept awake a few extra hours. You, on the other hand, still have work, and Kitty besides that.” 

Logan watched patiently as Patton mulled over his words, and then nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure!” 

“I am.” 

-

That night, Roman nearly had a heart attack when he returned to Patton’s room to find that the cage was missing. He searched every corner of the room from his vantage point on the dresser, straining to find his friend, but the other borrower had seemingly vanished. 

He began to panic. What if they’d sent him to other humans, ones running a lab or a zoo? What if they’d gotten bored of him and just crushed him? What if they’d accidentally let the dog in and Kitty had eaten him? What if the _humans_ had eaten him? 

Before he could really work himself into a frothing panic, he heard footsteps from down the hall and was forced to dive behind the nearest picture frame. He peeked his head out and watched as the door swung open, Patton walking in pulling Kitty by the collar. “Heel! Heel, Kitty!”

“If you wanted your dog to listen to you, perhaps you shouldn’t have named her after a cat.” Logan suggested dryly, out of Roman’s sight but audibly nearby. Patton chuckled. 

“She’s normally a lot better! I guess the little guy has just got her kind of riled up.” Roman leaned in, listening hard. ‘Little guy’ had to be Virgil, unless they’d spontaneously adopted a kid.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with him?” Patton asked, hand on his door. 

“Don’t worry, Patton. I will be fine, and I doubt that he could even do much to keep me up. He’s very quiet.” Logan responded, and Roman realized that the cage hadn’t vanished, only been moved. He groaned internally. “Sleep well.” 

“You too! Sweet dreams!” Patton replied as Roman hurried back to the walls, mentally charting his course to Logan’s room. 

These humans were going to drive him crazy!

At least he knew that Virgil had managed to stay silent under duress, he thought as he climbed up a few nails embedded in the wall. Of course he had, Virgil would never imagine breaking the borrower rules like that. Roman shuddered to imagine what had gotten him caught in the first place. 

Soon enough, he was at the nearest entrance to Logan’s room, a small hole in the wallpaper at the base of the wall. It opened out onto the floor under the human’s desk, and he watched carefully from the shadowed corner as Logan walked around his room with ground-shaking steps, getting ready to sleep. He wanted nothing more than to jump in and demand the human return his friend, but if he was going to succeed, he had to be more cautious, sneaky. More like Virgil. 

He wished he had been the one caught in whatever devious trap the humans had laid. Virgil no doubt would have realized he was missing sooner, gotten him free quicker, and be teasing him about it at home right now. He’d always figured that if one of them had gotten caught, it would be him, since he often forget himself in his boisterousness. 

He was uncharacteristically silent now, watching and waiting, straining his ears to hear any sign of Virgil. If the borrower wasn’t actually in this room, he’d be in trouble. There were only so many hours in the night to go searching the house. 

By the time he was sure Logan was out cold, moonlight was streaming in through the human’s window, casting the room in a strange light. He quietly ran over to the cord of the desk lamp, tugging on it once before using it as a makeshift rope to climb. He didn’t want to risk his hook making noise on the desk. 

He pulled himself up onto the desk with a slight grunt, and quickly got back to his feet in a crouch. His shoulders sagged in relief as he saw the cage, its bars silhouetted against the moon’s glow, and he hurried over to it. “Virge?” He whispered. 

A dark shape jolted up as though electrocuted, and flew to grab the bars. “Roman!” Virgil whispered back, voice thick with relief. “Oh thank god.” 

“It’s okay, Brad Pitiful, I’m gonna get you out of there.” Roman reassured him, shrugging his satchel off to dig through it. “What’s the situation with the cage? Padlock?” 

Virgil paused, expression unreadable in the dark. “Roman, listen. I heard them talking, Logan’s going to put up cameras by tomorrow night. You can’t come back.” 

Roman’s hands faltered for a second. “I… I won’t need to.” He said, more confidently than he felt. “We’re gonna get you out tonight.” 

“Roman-”

“Is there a padlock?” He interrupted, steely. Virgil sighed. 

“No, it’s- the door is up there.” He pointed, and Roman looked to see the wire latch halfway up the cage wall. “But listen, this cage- it creaks. If you try and climb it, you’ll wake the human. The door hinges are rusty. It’ll squeal.” 

Roman bit down on his lip, false bravado wavering. “We’ll see about that.” 

Quick as lightning, Virgil’s hand shot through the bars and grabbed onto his arm. “No, Roman.” 

“Well then what do you suggest I do?” Roman whisper-yelled. The human’s snores faltered slightly, and they both stilled, quiet, until the sound resumed.

Virgil squeezed his arm, and then loosened his grip. “You have to go. Find Dee and stay with him until you can find a new place.” 

_“What?_” Roman hissed. “You’re always talking about how dangerous that guy’s home is! His human owns snakes!” 

“Yeah, well that was before, and this is now, okay?!” Virgil sighed, releasing Roman’s arm entirely with a gentle shove. “I’ve been trying to figure a way out all day, Ro. There’s nothing that’s worth risking you getting caught too.” 

“So, what, you’re just giving up? I’m not _leaving_ you.” Roman said, and then froze as a sleepy grumble interrupted their conversation. The human stirred, beginning to sit up in bed, and they locked eyes. 

“_Run._” Virgil said, barely audible, and Roman bolted.


	5. Day 5: Rat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the worse, and then, the better...?

Logan sighed deeply as he sat up, turning to look at his desk. “Must you really make noise this late-?”

He paused, noticing a flicker of movement in the faint light. Had the tiny gotten out somehow? Alarmed, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, reaching the desk in a few short steps. 

The tiny creature was still in the cage, and for once he wasn’t cowering away, instead coming forwards to rattle the bars aggressively with his uninjured hand. Normally, Logan would be taking notes on this, since it was such atypical behavior, but he was sure he’d seen movement outside the cage. 

He reached over and fumbled with the lamp for a second before finding the switch and flicking it on, illuminating the room. Instantly, motion caught his eye, the clanging of the metal bars fading into background noise. 

_Another _tiny human, sliding down the cord of the lamp as though his life depended on it. Logan jolted, startled by the sight, and lunged for the creature. A fall from that height could kill him! 

There was a startled yelp as his fingers closed around the tiny form, and Logan had to take a moment to delicately pry the little struggling limbs off the cord. He lifted the little person up to the light, and noted the little bag and handcrafted clothes. 

“There’s more of you?” He muttered to himself, trying to pull the bag off the little creature’s back. 

“Let him go!” 

Logan froze, and so did the tiny in his hand. He turned to the cage slowly, staring at the tiny figure standing behind the bars. 

Despite his bold words, the tiny person was shaking, eyes wide. He swallowed visibly before speaking again, voice distinctly wobbly. 

“Please… let him go. Roman hasn’t done anything wrong, _please_! I- I can talk, I’ll tell you anything, we’re borrowers, we live in the walls-” 

“Virgil, stop-” The other tried, pushing against Logan’s numb fingers.

“No, listen, please! I’ll do anything, I’ll be a good lab rat, I’ll let you do anything! Test, samples, dissection, I don’t care just let Roman _go!_” 

Logan’s mind, for once, blanked. They talked. They _talked._ He gaped, and then shook his head, trying to formulate a response to Virgil’s pleas. Wait, dissection? 

“I wouldn’t- Dissecting a specimen preemptively when you only have one would be incredibly counterproductive to learning more about a species.” He recited automatically, trying to convey how ridiculous the idea was.

“No… No no _no, please!_” Virgil’s small voice cracked, and Logan winced, glancing down at Roman’s pale face. Clearly, that had not been as comforting as he had meant it to be. 

“I’m not- I don’t mean…” He trailed off as he noticed the tears running down Virgil’s face. Oh no, feelings. He needed to get Patton.

He dithered for a moment, looking from his hand to the cage. He really didn’t want to put Roman in it, now that he knew the truth. If he set him down though, he might run off thinking his friend was going to be used for experiments or something else ridiculous like that. 

He’d have to hold onto him for a moment longer, then. 

Mind made up, he turned and went to retrieve Patton with Roman still in his curled fingers, ignoring Virgil’s desperate cries and panicked questions. Surprisingly, the other borrower was lax in his hand, occasionally trembling slightly but no longer struggling. The walk down the hall was silent for only a moment. 

“I’m much better than him, you know.” Roman said, voice unnaturally casual. Logan glanced down at him. 

“Sorry?” 

“At being o-obedient.” Roman’s voice cut off slightly as Logan stumbled, but the small man wasn’t done. “I’m great at singing, too, and you won’t find anyone as perfect a specimen of borrowerkind as me. Virgil- Er, the other one is just too dreary to even think about keeping, and he’s all skin and bones, ludicrously stubborn, I mean really-” 

“Stop.” Logan choked out, and Roman’s mouth shut with an audible click. Logan sped up his pace without saying anything more, biting the inside of his cheek. They’d really messed up, this time. 

He rapped on Patton’s door sharply, and winced at his roommate’s tired face when he opened the door. “Lo?” 

“Patton, I need your help urgently. Please follow me.” Logan said stiffly, before turning and walking back towards his room. He could feel Roman’s chest rising and falling rapidly against his fingertips. 

“Wha- Logan?” Despite his confusion, Patton trailed behind him, Kitty at his heels. “What’s going on?” 

“I require your assistance placating our guests. We have made a miscalculation, a grave one.” 

“Guests?” Patton followed Logan’s gaze down to his hand, where Roman sat. “Oh my goodness, there’s another one?”

“Hello there!” Roman said brightly, only a hint of strain in his voice, and Patton’s eyebrows flew up. Logan pushed his door open with his free hand, careful not to let Kitty in, and led them into the room and back to the cage. 

Virgil was on his knees, chest rising and falling shallowly. He hadn’t even seemed to register their presence, which was very unlike him. Logan frowned, turning to Roman, who was glancing between him and the other borrower frantically. His desire to continue his ‘perfect pet’ act seemed to lose out, and he leaned out towards the other tiny person. 

“Virgil! Virgil, it’s okay, I’m here! You have to breathe, take a deep breath.” 

Virgil’s head jerked up, eyes locking on Roman, and Logan shook his head. Enough was enough. 

He set Roman down on the desk carefully, and the borrower sprinted directly to the cage, where he met Virgil at the wall of the cage and reached through to grab his uninjured hand, pulling it through the bars to rest it on his chest. 

“Roman?” Virgil asked between shallow breaths, head jerking with the force of his panic. His gaze flitted over to the humans, his pupils shrunk. “You’re free? You’re- Roman, run, you have to run-” 

“Shhh, shh, shut up, I’m not leaving.” Roman pressed Virgil’s hand against him harder. “Deep breaths, with me. In and out on my count. C’mon.” 

Logan turned to Patton, who looked like the horror of the situation was slowly dawning on him, and pulled him back a few steps to give the two some space. Patton covered his mouth with a hand. 

“They talk… They… Oh, Logan, they’re people! We’ve been…” 

“I know.” Logan said grimly. “We have to let them go.”

“Of course, goodness, we have to apologize!” Patton looked over to where the two were whispering. “I’m going to get him out of that cage.” 

Without another word, he approached, and popped the cage door open with a squeal that made both borrowers wince. Roman snapped his head between Virgil and Patton rapidly, and then jumped forwards when the latter started reaching his hand into the cage. “No! Stop!” 

Patton faltered, looking down at him and then to Virgil, who was hunched over, shying away from the oversized hand. “Oh no, I’m sorry…” He said softly, retracting his hand. Something in his heart ached at the surprise the two expressed at his apology. “I only meant to get him out of the cage, I swear.”

Roman perked up. “You’re… you’re letting him go?” 

“Of course!” Patton said, and Logan narrowed his eyes at the phrasing. Sure enough, Roman stepped forward shakily.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” Roman said, voice trembly but not insincere. “I promise I’ll be good, I swear-” 

Logan saw the confusion bleed into Patton’s contrite expression, and cut in. “Please don’t misinterpret Patton’s intentions. We don’t intend on… ‘keeping’ either of you.” 

“What?” Roman responded, dumbstruck. Patton’s face crumpled at the implication, withdrawing his hands completely from the cage. 

“Perhaps, like this?” Logan said, moving up next to him and unlatching the walls of the cage where they connected to the bottom. From there, it was easy to lift the wire bars away, removing the barrier between the two. 

Virgil hesitated, staring at them with wide, terrified eyes, but Roman was quick to grab his arm and pull him over, immediately shoving him behind himself protectively. The four of them stared at each other for a moment as Logan set the cage aside. 

“You’re serious?” Virgil asked, disbelieving.

“Always.” Logan said, gesturing to the tie. “We never should have kept you captive in the first place.” 

“We’re sorry. We didn’t know… It doesn’t matter, what we did was still wrong.” Patton added, wringing his hands. “Please, if there’s anything we can do to make it up to you…” 

The two didn’t answer, and Logan set a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “We should leave.” He turned to look at them. “You said you live in the walls? How long will you need us out of the room? Ten minutes?” 

They stared, and for a second Logan thought they still wouldn’t answer, but then- “Yeah.” Roman said, nodding rapidly. “Ten minutes is- That’s fine.” 

“Very well.” Logan walked towards the door, Patton in tow. 

“Wait!” Virgil slapped a hand over his mouth as though he hadn’t meant to speak. They waited patiently, still at the door. “You… You’re letting us leave? Just like that? I thought… I thought you wanted to know more about us.” 

Roman elbowed him, but Patton stepped forward slightly to answer, and their eyes locked on his movement immediately. 

“It would be nice to learn more about you guys, but it should be _your_ choice to talk with us.” He said, earnestly. Logan dipped his head in agreement. 

“You’re as sentient as we are, it would be wrong to keep you here against your will. If there’s ever anything we can do to make it up to you… you know where to find us.” 

Patton nodded firmly, and they finally walked out of the room unimpeded. 

When they returned, the two were gone.


End file.
